31 Indian economic offenders owe government at least Rs 40,000 crore

The list of fugitives was submitted by the ministry in Lok Sabha, showing that not just Vjay Mallya and Nirav Modi but several other businessmen have defrauded financial institutions and fled the country in the past.

New Delhi: At a time when the government and its financial wings are imposing strict restrictions on PSBs following the massive Rs 13,600 crore fraud at Punjab National Bank (PNB), the ministry of external affairs has pinpointed 31 economic offenders who have fled the country after committing major frauds. According to information furnished by the ministry, these people are offenders who are currently being pursued by investigative agencies such as Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate in 15 different cases.

A report by financial daily Mint, based on calculations based on investigation reports, reveal that these offenders owe Indian banks and public institutions an amount of Rs 40,000 crore.

The list of fugitives was submitted by the ministry in Lok Sabha, showing that not just Vjay Mallya and Nirav Modi but several other businessmen have defrauded financial institutions and fled the country in the past. Prominent names in the list include Mallya, who owes Rs 9,000 crore to a consortium of at least 17 banks; Nirav Modi, Ami Modi, Neeshal Modi and Mehul Choksi for Rs 13,600 crore PNB fraud; Jatin Mehta of Winsome Diamonds with a total debt of Rs 7,000 crore; former IPL chief Lalit Modi; Sterling Biotech Ltd directors Chetan Jayantilal Sandesara and Nitin Jatantilal Sandesara for alleged banking fraud over Rs 5,000 crore.

Among lesser know names in the list, there is Ashish Jobanputra, a promoter of Mumbai-based textile export firm ABC Cotspin Pvt. Ltd and his wife for a bill discounting scam pegged at Rs 770 crore, diamond trader Ritesh Jain for illegally siphoning Rs 1,500 crore from the country, Surender Singh, Angad Singh and Harsahib Singh for cheating and criminal conspiracy; Sabhua Seth for a fraud to the tune of Rs 390 crore against Oriental Bank of Commerce, and Sanjay Bhandari for evasion of taxes worth Rs 150 crore.

Among all the offenders named in the list, Nilesh Parekh of Shree Ganesh Jewellery House was arrested by CBI last year after he denied joining probe in a case, where he was accused of conducting a Rs 2,200 crore-plus fraud. It may be noted that there is no information on public domains about any other offenders.

Meanwhile, the government has already started taking a harder stand against defaulters. A Bloomberg report suggested that a concerned wing of the government has compiled a list of individuals - whom it plans to bar from leaving the country - for their nexus with companies that have defaulted on loans. A person with knowledge about the development told the publication that the government has come out with a list of 91 people, involved with approximately 400 wilful defaulters, said the report quoting an anonymous source.

The administration has given a green signal to initiate legal proceedings against major defaulters and also asked banks to provide passport details of individuals in connection with bad loans to the tune of Rs 500 million or $7.7 million.

The report, however, does not shed light on the people who have been included in the list; the government may disclose the same publicly in days to come, as the Finance Ministry reiterated an RBI directive to name and shame defaulters on Tuesday. The tightening of regulations in the banking sector is a result of the massive Rs 13,600 crore plus fraud at PNB. Apart from PNB, approximately 30 other banks issued a credit to firms belonging to key accused Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi's against the 'fake' guarantees.

31 Indian economic offenders owe government at least Rs 40,000 croreDescription:The list of fugitives was submitted by the ministry in Lok Sabha, showing that not just Vjay Mallya and Nirav Modi but several other businessmen have defrauded financial institutions and fled the country in the past.Times Now